Hot Rod Forum banner

MSD 8570 Small Cap Distributor

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  OLNOLAN 
#1 ·
I'm helping my son build a SBC for his 28 Ford. He's got an Edelbrock 2X4 Air gap manifold for the engine. Right now, he's got a 283 in it with a points ignition and a single Holley 4 bbl. Because of firewall constraints, a standard HEI is not an option. With the 2X4's we know there will be even less space to work with so he's looking at an MSD 8570 small cap distributor. In looking at the spec's for this distributor, I notice there's no vacuum advance, but it has an adjustable mechanical advance. What are the implications of not having a vacuum advance? Is there a way to overcome its absence with the mechanical advance?
 
#2 ·
Mechanical Advance

Hey Mikey, I don't see anything wrong with just running mechanical advance on a pure hot rod engine as long as you set up a sweet advance curve. The engine seems to always be there when you put your foot in it and vac advance tuning is a real trial and error ordeal. Back in the day, vacuum advance was never even considered on a hot street/strip setup. Nowadays folks seem to be using vacuum advance more in an effort to improve cruise drivability and MPG. In your application you probably don't need it. Food for thought. :) olnolan
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top